Page 158 - Historical Summaries (Persian Gulf - Vol II) 1907-1953

145

(cf) Ajntan
27. The Ruler Shaikh Rashid bin Humaid succeeded his father peacefully
in 1928. He resembles in appearance and manner an Arab of the desert. He
possesses plenty of courage but is volatile and untrustworthy. He belongs to the
Na’im tribe and is at feud with Saqr the Na'im Shaikh of Buraimi. He maintains
good order in his territory and no incident worth mentioning has occurred in it
during the period under review. In 1951 he invited Dr. (Miss) Hosman of the
Presbyterian Church of America to establish a hospital in his capital but as she
found conditions there unsatisfactory she settled in Sharjah (paragragh 25 above).
In 1952 he started to issue his own travel documents, being the first Trucial State
Ruler to do so, and made much profit by issuing them to all and sundry whether
they were his subjects or not. His eldest son, Ali, who has an imposing figure and
is fully competent, represents him when he is ill or absent and will presumably
succeed him. Rashid is suspected of pro-Saudi sympathies and Ali is believed to
have visited Turki in Hamasah soon after the latter’s arrival there.
28. The State is a very small one. No attempt has yet been made to define
its boundaries but it covers a few miles of coast and may extend up to 20 miles
into the interior. In 1953 Shaikh Rashid objected when an oil company survey
party operating West of Dhaid trespassed in what he regarded as his preserve.
He owns a village called Masfut in the Wadi Hatta near the Dubai village of Hatta
(paragraph 19 above) but it is doubtful if this can be regarded as part of his State.

(e) Umm al Qaiwain
29. The Ruler Shaikh Ahmad bin Rashid, M.B.E., succeeded on the murder
of his cousin in 1929. He was then only 18 and was apparently not concerned
in the murder himself. The actual murderer and an uncle who instigated him were
lynched by the populace. Since then the history of the Shaikhdom has been entirely
uneventful. Shaikh Ahmad, who is fat and suffers from diabetes, has a well-
deserved reputation for honesty and lack of self-interest and is in great demand
on the Trucial Coast as a mediator in disputes. He administers his State wisely
and efficiently so far as his means permit and is always ready to assist Her Majesty’s
Representatives in the settlement of disputes and other matters when called upon
to do so. He is not affected by the Saudi claims and so far as is known has had
no dealings with Turki in Hamasah though one or two of his relations are reported
to have visited him. He was awarded the M.B.E. in 1950. His eldest son, Rashid,
who will probably succeed him, is a colourless personality.
30. Shaikh Ahmad and the bulk of his people belong to the Al Ali tribe
who besides Umm al Qaiwain own Falaj Al Ali an oasis about 20 miles distant
in the interior and a few miles north-west of Dhaid. The Shaikhdom extends
along the coast from the vicinity of Hamriyah in the south to the vicinity of
Jazirat al Hamrah to the north, a distance of about 15 miles, and inland probably
up to and including Falaj Al Ali but no boundaries have yet been defined.

(/). Ras al Khaimah
31. This is one of the Qasimi Shaikhdoms. Shaikh Salim who was not
recognised as independent of Sharjah died in 1919. His son Sultan succeeded in
pushing his elder brother Muhammad aside and in obtaining his recognition as
an independent Ruler in 1921. He maintained his position as such until 1948.
He possesses a wild and nervous disposition and was a thoroughly unsatisfactory
Ruler. He neglected the interests of his State and on several occasions adopted
an unsatisfactory attitude towards His Majesty’s Government. The trouble he gave
over the Royal Air Force petrol barge in 1930 is related below (paragraph 113).
From time to time he refused to call on His Majesty’s ships and representatives
visiting Ras al Khaimah. In 1935 he removed his flag and flag-staff from Tamb
Island and was reported to be intriguing with the Persians. He only replaced his
flag and its staff when threatened that the island would be handed over to Sharjah.
In 1947 trouble started between him and his elder brother Muhammad because
of his failure to pay the latter a share of the money he was receiving under his
oil concession. In February 1948 Saqr the third son of Muhammad seized the
fort at Ras al Khaimah in Sultan’s absence and was at once accepted by the
populace as Ruler in his place.
46639 u 2